The ever increasing urbanization of society has resulted in increasing problems for owners or leasers of structures. For example, dwelling units, built on undesirable property, have seepage problems which must be accommodated by a sump apparatus. In addition, the building explosion has resulted in an increased percentage of ground area in an urban location being utilized for housing thereby reducing the capacity of the ground to soak up precipitation. Therefore, minor flooding in basements of dwelling places and commercial buildings has become common place in a large number of urban areas. Such minor flooding would normally be accommodated by the sump pump systems heretofore known in the prior art. However, with the increasing urbanization, the inability of the public utilities to keep pace with the power requirements, has resulted in power shortages. Furthermore, as will quite frequently happen, a storm causing the precipitation may cut off, temporarily, the power supply necessary for operating such known prior art sump pump systems.
A result of the foregoing is that in such situations as "brown outs", sufficient power to operate such known prior art sump pump systems may not be available. The result is that the known prior art sump pump systems may not be able to pump out normal seepage, whether or not a storm is taking place, with the result that a basement or crawl space may flood. Similarly, power failures due to storms result in the inability of such known prior art sump pumps to operate at precisely the time required to pump the accumulating water. This results in flooded basements or crawl spaces.
In an attempt to solve this problem, various known prior art battery-powered sump pumps have been designed. Many have controls which will continuously warn of malfunctions in the main pump or the operation of the backup pump.
For example, Karl O. Niedermeyer in U.S. Pat. No. 3,999,980 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,087,204 discloses battery-powered sump pumps. In one embodiment shown in FIG. 5 of U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,999,980 and 4,087,204, a battery-powered sump pump responsive to a pressure actuator is disclosed. The pressure actuator, when activated, energizes the motor, a signal light and a horn indicating that the sump pump is working. In addition, the electric motor is placed in series with a fuse to protect the electric motor from overload conditions. Push buttons are also incorporated to check the operation of the device and to assist in determining component failures when the pressure actuator is not activated. Also, it is possible to disconnect the power to the horn when desired. Thus, Niedermeyer discloses a battery-powered sump pump which provides a continuous visible indication of operation and, if desired, a continuous audible alarm.
Richard J. Roberts et al, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,814,544, issued June 4, 1974, discloses a self-contained auxiliary battery-powered sump pump which is activated in response to a float switch. The sump pump includes an electrical battery charger for maintaining the battery in condition to operate the pump. In addition, a battery condition indicator, a charger operating light, a manual test switch for actuating the sump pump and a timer unit for automatically operating the unit through a test cycle is disclosed. An alarm bell is provided which is energized to provide an audible alarm when the pump is energized by the float switch. A cut off switch is provided for the alarm bell so that after it announces the energization of the pump due to the condition of the sump, the bell may be deenergized.
Anthony Peters, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,726,606 issued Apr. 10, 1973, discloses an auxiliary sump pump operated by a D.C. motor which is operated in response to a float switch. The pump includes a battery charging system for the storage battery which includes a warning system. The warning system includes an indicator light which is connected to the alternating current power so as to indicate that power is available to the battery charger. Also, included is an alarm which is activated upon a power failure which can be de-activated by a switch once its warning has been communicated to the observer.
All the above described prior art designs provide for a continuous audible or visual signal to indicate the operation of the auxiliary sump pump in response to some liquid level responsive device. None of the above designs, however, provide an intermittent audible and visual signal which is more perceptible to an observer than a continuous alarm. In addition, none provide an intermittent visual alarm which may be perceived by users who are deaf or hard of hearing and in the alternative provide an intermittent audible alarm which may be perceived by users who are blind or have impaired sight.